Wendy Williams is facing more drama in her conservatorship battle after the assisted living facility she’s been staying at filed a police report claiming she’d been ‘kidnapped’ by a family member.
According to TMZ, Coterie — the New York-based facility where Williams claims she’s been ‘imprisoned’ for the last eight months — accused the TV star’s niece, Alex Finnie, of breaking the law by taking her out to dinner on Wednesday night.
Insiders revealed that Finnie was in New York City on Wednesday to accompany Williams back to the Coterie from Lenox Hill hospital, where she received a psychiatric evaluation earlier this week.
Finnie spent time with Williams in the facility’s memory unit — which costs $18,000 per-month — before taking her aunt to an Italian restaurant in the city that evening.
This prompted the Coterie to contact the NYPD and file a police report as they claimed Finnie ‘evaded staff by taking Wendy out of the building,’ insider alleged.
However, TMZ explained that Williams wouldn’t have been allowed to leave the memory unit — which is located on the facility’s fifth floor — without an attendant giving her elevator access.
Wendy Williams is facing more drama in her conservatorship battle after the assisted living facility she’s been staying at filed a police report claiming she’d been ‘kidnapped’ by a family member; Williams seen in 2019
They also claimed that Williams and her niece were escorted to the lobby by an attendant and that the attendant even ‘opened the door’ of the Uber that took them to the restaurant.
The ordeal contradicts recent claims made by Williams’ guardian Sabrina Morrisey’s attorney, who said in a letter to TMZ that Williams has no restrictions when it comes to family visits and that she can ‘come and go’ from the facility as she pleases.
The outlet caught up with Williams and her niece as they arrived back at Coterie after dinner.
Williams called the ordeal ‘unbelievable’ as she walked arm-in-arm with Finnie, who is the daughter of Williams’ older sister Wanda.
‘We came back to dinner and apparently police were called,’ Finnie told cameras outside the building.
‘I was told that, at some point, the police were called because the Coterie here was saying allegedly that I took my aunt from this facility and whisked her away without any sort of confirmation or approval,’ she explained.
Williams said that the drastic measures allegedly taken by the facility is proof that her legal guardian is ‘lying’ about her living conditions.
‘Clearly they are lying to me saying I can go out and do what I want to do. This is my niece Alex. She just flew in from Miami, ok? I just came from the hospital, so we are going out to celebrate,’ Williams explained.
According to TMZ , Coterie — the New York-based facility where Williams claims she’s been ‘imprisoned’ for the last eight months — accused the TV star’s niece, Alex Finnie (pictured), of breaking the law by taking her out to dinner on Wednesday night
The facility claimed ‘Alex evaded staff by taking Wendy out of the building,’ according to insiders
Williams got visibly choked up as she expressed shock over ‘what [had] been done’ to her and her niece.
Finnie insisted that both her and Williams are ‘good and back [at the Coterie] in one piece.’
Before heading inside on her mobility scooter, Williams took aim at the facility as she exclaimed: ‘These people are going to plead their case [regarding what happened]. I don’t hear.’
According to Page Six, Williams and her niece dined at Max Tucci’s Tucci restaurant and that the TV star ‘looked great’ in a Gucci bomber jacket.
‘She had a super time, she kept writing in her journal, she looked great,’ an eyewitness claimed.
‘Tomorrow she is going on ‘The View.’ Guests inside the restaurant respected her. She was with her niece and a young man.’
The police report debacle comes soon after Williams was rushed to hospital on Monday for a psychiatric evaluation after she was seen begging fans for help.
She has been fighting to be freed from her conservatorship while being ‘imprisoned’ at a New York-based assisted living facility — a claim her legal guardian denies — after being diagnosed with progressive aphasia and dementia in 2023.
Williams said she passed her evaluation with ‘flying colors’ — further putting the validity of her court-ordered guardianship into question.
She got emotional while speaking on TMZ Live on Wednesday hours after her guardian Morrissey wanted to set the record straight about her living claims.
Williams told that outlet it was a ‘lie’ that she was ‘allowed’ to leave the Coterie and go shopping, adding that her family has to be ‘allowed’ by Morrissey to see her.
‘It is a lie. They are lying people. I’m sorry but I’ve had it up to here. Thank goodness I can speak.’
‘What’s more restrictive than the Coterie? The memory unit on the fifth floor. And what is doing on with the Judge [Lisa Sokoloff] speaking to me in such a way,’ Williams said.
When asked if she is concerned they were going to move her to a more restrictive unit, Williams said: ‘Yes I am, and don’t make me start crying. Because I can laugh and cry at the drop of a dime,’ she added.
‘It makes me very nervous. Let me be honest with you. I’m scared of that mess. I am. I don’t know what could be tighter than where I am but I have to get out of guardian and I have to do it immediately,’ Williams said.
When asked why the judge and the guardian want to keep her in the facility, Williams told Harvey that she would tell him ‘behind the scenes,’ but Ginalisa Monterroso, who was also on the phone with Wendy – a caretaker who is independent of Williams’ guardianship – said she thinks it was because of the Lifetime lawsuit.
The ordeal contradicts recent claims made by Williams’ guardian Sabrina Morrisey’s (pictured) attorney, who said in a letter to TMZ that Williams has no restrictions when it comes to family visits and that she can ‘come and go’ from the facility as she pleases
Williams called the police report ordeal ‘unbelievable’ and that the drastic measures taken by the facility is ‘proof’ that her legal guardian is ‘lying’; Williams seen in 2018
It’s unclear if Monterroso is an employee of the assisted-living facility or what her immediate connection to Williams is.
Hours earlier, an attorney for her temporary financial guardian Sabrina wanted to set the record straight about the talk show host’s claims she was being ‘imprisoned’ at Coterie.
Sabrina was originally appointed by a judge in 2022 after Wendy’s ex-manager Bernie Young reportedly raised concern that she was of ‘unsound mind’ – which also led to Wells Fargo to temporarily freeze her accounts.
Sabrina had told TMZ that Wendy was receiving ‘excellent medical care’ at the facility, which features a ‘spa, a workout room, excellent food, a dining room, and outside terraces’ – despite the fact the talk show host had said she can only leave the memory unit with permission.
Last month in February, the star revealed that she has stepped outside only twice in the span of a month as she got candid about her isolating conservatorship.
Wendy also claimed she is not ‘cognitively impaired’ and her family broke their silence in January as they they search for an attorney to help her ‘regain control of her life.’
Wendy broke her silence on Tuesday in an interview on Good Day New York York with host Rosanna Scotto.
Williams had called Scotto from the hospital and explained that she passed her evaluation with ‘flying colors.’
Rosanna shifted the conversation and said, ‘You know what I don’t understand Wendy is that they’re locking you up like you committed a crime.’
Williams replied, ‘Yes! I have to tell you something. And you know, I’m on the fifth floor. It’s called the memory unit. This is a floor, you know, you don’t remember anything. Like really?
‘And as far as me being able to go outside, I’m not allowed. You know, I have to stay in this building,’ she continued, and added she needs to be ‘permitted’ in order to go to the gym that is located on the third floor.
Wendy then emotionally stated that her money is ‘up in the air’ before saying, ‘This is my life.’
Towards the end of the interview, she shared that leaving her guardianship is ‘the number one most important thing.
During her trip to New York City’s Lenox Hill Hospital on Monday from the assisted-living facility where she has been forced to live, the former talk show host was evaluated by a psychiatrist.
The police report debacle comes soon after Williams was rushed to hospital on Monday for a psychiatric evaluation after she was seen begging fans for help
And on Monday, sources told TMZ that Williams received a perfect score on a ‘capacity test’ administered by the psychiatrist.
DailyMail.com has reached out to a representative for Williams for comment.
According to the sources, Wendy was administered a 10-item questionnaire that was designed to determine her awareness and decision-making abilities, and she scored 10 out of 10 on the test.
Although one test alone doesn’t give a full picture of her mental capacity, the fact that she passed the test with flying colors may indicate that she is far more aware than her guardian has indicated.
Williams had previously been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and aphasia.
However, sources clarified that the exam Williams underwent was not to dispute her dementia diagnosis. The results of the test will reportedly be shared with the judge who has been overseeing her guardianship.
In recent weeks, Wendy has been making an effort to speak to the press to make her case that she has improved and should be able to manage her care – and money – on her own.
Williams PR push is set to expand later this week when she is scheduled to make her first national television appearance since her dementia diagnosis.
It was previously reported that Williams’ visit to the hospital was preceded by NYPD officers visiting her at her assisted-living facility to perform a wellness check.
Sources told TMZ on Monday that Gina had allegedly ordered her trip to the hospital and the cognitive test.
According to TMZ, New York’s Adult Protective Services agency is now conducting an investigation into her guardianship and her stay at the facility, where she is confined to a restrictive memory unit, where she appears to have fewer privileges than patients on other floors.
Williams has denied that she has memory issues, and therefore she doesn’t think she should be deprived of her privileges. She also reportedly doesn’t have freedom of movement on that floor.
According to the publication, APS has been interviewing people close to the gossip monger, including her niece, Alex Finnie, whom employees reportedly interviewed on Monday.
Wendy reportedly spoken with the organization recently. The NYPD is also reportedly continuing to investigate the circumstances of her stay in the facility.
Williams will be making her first national television appearance since her shocking dementia diagnosis, ABC revealed on Sunday.
Williams said she passed her evaluation with ‘flying colors’ — further putting the validity of her court-ordered guardianship into question
She will be joining the ladies of The View on Friday, March 14 – even as she wages a legal battle to end her guardianship.
Wendy has lately made attempts to speak out via phone from her assisted-living facility, where she has been kept on a restrictive memory unit that gives her few privileges and little right of movement.
Although Williams will be back on TV, it’s unclear if viewers will get to see her live, as ABC’s announcement indicates that she will be doing a phone interview with the View hosts, who include Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, Ana Navarro and Alyssa Farah Griffin.
However, she got a rare breath of fresh air last month when her guardianship and the facility allowed her to fly to Miami to celebrate her father’s 94th birthday for a few days.
Back in 2022, Williams was placed under a court-appointed guardianship after Wells Fargo reported several large withdrawals from her bank account that it deemed suspicious.
After Williams was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and aphasia in February 2024, Morrissey later said the gossip monger was ‘cognitively impaired and permanently incapacitated.’
But in recent months, a seemingly lucid Wendy has been disputing that she’s impaired and begging to regain her freedom.
